An examination of actor-partner social support effects on HIV-related problems and interpersonal outcomes among a sample of HIV-positive African American dyads. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol 2016 Apr;22(2):196-204
Date
07/07/2015Pubmed ID
26147633DOI
10.1037/cdp0000060Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84935145761 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 5 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVES: Social support is an important resource that has been associated with better mental and physical health outcomes among HIV-positive people. However, researchers have not adequately explored how social support functions among HIV-positive African Americans. The purpose of the current study was to understand whether HIV-related support resources are associated with relational functioning and HIV-related problems among a sample of HIV-infected African American dyads.
METHOD: Exactly 34 HIV-infected (i.e., seroconcordant) dyads compromised of HIV-positive African American adults and their HIV-positive adult "informal supporters" from 3 Midwestern urban cities completed psychosocial questionnaires and a communication task. Using the actor-partner interdependence model, we analyzed dyadic data to determine whether there were actor and/or partner effects within dyadic relationships on measures of conflict and HIV-related problems, communication about these problems, and health symptoms.
RESULTS: We found significant negative relationships between perceived support and HIV-related problems and perceptions of problem inequity within dyads and a positive relationship between perceived support and communication about these problems within dyads. Contrary to our expectations, we found no relationship between social support and HIV symptoms, relational conflict, or perceptions about dyadic partners' HIV-related problems.
CONCLUSIONS: Although our study precludes drawing causal conclusions, we found evidence of a relationship between the personal experience of HIV-related problems, communication about these problems, and perceptions of social support among a small sample of HIV-infected African American dyads. These findings suggest the need to consider how support-related communication within HIV-infected dyads might influence and be influenced by problem perceptions.
Author List
Mosack KE, Rafferty KA, Billig AK, Wendorf AR, Brouwer AM, Stevens PAuthor
Katie Mosack PhD Associate Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCross-Sectional Studies
Female
HIV Infections
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Sexual Partners
Social Support
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
